The present invention relates to printing, and more particularly to a high speed, high quality printer and transport assembly.
In the past, there have been applications of ink jet technology in packaging, especially for low resolution applications like case coding, bar coding and the like, with a continuous ink jet being the main technology of choice. Ink jet technology, through recent advances, has reached a stage where it can now be used to develop printing systems for applications in total package printing.
Ink jet technology has become increasingly popular in different printing applications including small home office printing, textile printing, as well as some customized printing applications, like mailing labels, etc. The next logical application for this technology is in industrial packaging for consumer products and the like. The application of digital technology, in particular ink jet technology to consumer packaging offers new ways to customize the packaging and product promotions and marketing. Ink jet technology is ideally suited for application in this area provided it meets the quality and the throughput requirements of this application. Though there have been attempts in the past to use this technology for packaging applications, it is only the recent advances in technology developments that have made it possible to meet the demands of some of these applications.
Among the two types of ink jet technologies, i.e., continuous ink jet (CIJ) and drop on demand ink jet (DOD), the CIJ technology has had some success in applications relating to industrial high speed printing like date and bar coding, and personalized mailing systems. Of late, the DOD technology has made inroads into some of these application areas. There are many advantages of using the DOD technology including simplicity, affordable cost, reliability, more ink formulation options and the possibility of getting high quality printing. Some of the issues that need to be addressed are drying times, water and abrasion resistance, reliability and speed.
Current packaging systems utilize preprinted materials which come in either as large label rolls (used in packages known as soft packs), or as blanks (used in packages known as hard packs) in units of a few hundred. The feeding mechanism depends upon whether label rolls or blanks are used. Large amounts (typically hundreds of thousands or millions) are printed using traditional printing techniques. When the volumes are large and if the printed information on the packages does not vary, the traditional printing is very cost effective. When the production schedule is fixed in advance, the system works quite well. But in practice, the changes in supply and demand mean that it is seldom that a production schedule is fixed in advance. Last minute changes are a rule rather than an exception, and as a result, a large amount of buffer stock of the packaging material must be maintained to accommodate these changes as and when they occur. So in consumer packaging industries, it is common to have huge warehouses filled with the preprinted packaging materials. Such storage will mean inventory maintenance and tracking as well as significant waste due to excess materials and obsolescence in graphics or materials due to aging.
Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is a printer and transport assembly which is simple in construction but which produces high quality printed blanks at high production speeds .
Another object of the present invention is a method of printing blanks by digitally printing high quality indicia on the blanks at high production speeds.
Another object of the present invention is a method of printing package blanks on line during the packaging operation.
Another object of the present invention is a method of printing variable information on the blanks at high production speeds.
Another object of the present invention is a method of package printing at high production speeds with a modular package printing system comprising a print engine, transport mechanism, drying mechanism, inspection system and a restacker which works as a buffer.
Another object of the present invention is a method of printing at production speeds which incorporates a drying tower to provide sufficient drying time for the printed blanks.
Another object of the present invention is a method of package printing at production speeds with the system providing a buffer of printed blanks during an online printing operation which decouples the printing operation from the packer so that when the printer is stopped for a short period (e.g. for clearing a jam), the packer continues to run.
Still another object of the present invention is a method of package printing at production speeds to print variable information on either side of a blank.
Another object of the present invention is a method of printing variable information on partially printed blanks at production speeds where the partially printed blanks are printed using conventional printing techniques such as Gravure or offset, for example.
Another object of the present invention is a method of printing at production speeds where variable information is printed at any preselected location on the blank in any orientation and where the location and/or orientation may be changed for each individual blank.
Yet another object of the present invention is a method of printing at production speeds which incorporates an optical inspection mechanism to verify the quality and integrity of the printing.
In accordance with the present invention, a printer and transport assembly comprises a transport conveyor for receiving individual blanks and continuously conveying the blanks in a downstream direction. A digital high speed printer directly above the transport conveyor downstream from where the blanks are received on the transport conveyor prints high quality indicia on the individual blanks as the blanks are continuously moved downstream by the conveyor. A blank drying arrangement receives printed blanks from the transport conveyor and conveys those blanks in spaced apart relationship over a course of travel of sufficient length so as to sufficiently dry the printed indicia on the blanks. The printed and dried blanks are then collected in a stack, for example, for subsequent use such as in packaging applications, for example. Greeting cards, stickers, labels, coupons and the like may also be printed with the printer and transport assembly of the present invention.
The printer and transport assembly may also include a dryer directly above the transport conveyor immediately downstream from the digital high speed printer for initially partially drying printed blanks. Also, an inspection unit may be positioned directly above the transport conveyor downstream from the dryer for inspecting printed blanks and removing any printed blank below a predetermined printing standard.
Blank supply structure may be positioned upstream of the digital high speed printer for holding and delivering individual blanks from a vertical stack to the transport conveyer, and a suction arrangement may be provided for removing a lowermost blank in the stack and depositing that blank on the transport conveyor.
Moreover, the transport conveyor may include the combination of a first horizontally oriented moving belt arrangement for receiving blanks from the blank supply structure, and a second horizontally oriented moving belt arrangement downstream from the first for receiving blanks from the first belt arrangement. Preferably, a suction manifold is positioned directly below the second moving belt arrangement with perforations on an upper surface of the manifold. Perforations are also positioned in the second belt arrangement so that suction from the manifold is applied thereto to vacuum hold blanks on the second belt arrangement as the blanks are printed and transported downstream to the drying arrangement.
Preferably, the digital high speed printer includes a mounting that initially moves the printer transversely relative to the transport conveyor to a predetermined position prior to printing of the blanks.
The blank drying arrangement may comprise a variety of configurations including a drying tower in the form of a vertically oriented drying conveyor having spaced apart dryer shelves for receiving printing blanks from the transport conveyor, with one printed blank on each shelf. A transfer conveyor may be positioned between the drying arrangement and the collection point for receiving printed blanks from the shelves of the drying conveyor and delivering the blanks to the collection point.
The present invention also includes a method of printing package blanks that comprises a series of operative steps utilizing the above described components of the printer and transport assembly.